
BONANZA RABBITRY 


930 Grand View Avenue : : : Los Angeles, California 


FASHODA, CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. 




















2.F 455 

.?ll 


66309 


1 / 


222SH 



Library of Congress 

Two Copies Received 

JUL 20 1900 

Copyright ootry 

Tjve 

SECOND COPY. 

Delivered to 

ORDER DIVISION, 

if 27 1900 


PRINCE CHARMING 

At 13 months. Weight 8^ lbs. Sire, Yukon Jr.; he by imported Champion Yukon, champion 
of two continents in his day; dam. Queen Inez, she by imported Ambrose and out of imported 
Princess Inez. These are among the choicest of blood lines in existence. 

Prince Charming is all that his name implies. Itt shape he is the cap-sheaf of his tribe. 
Such length and beautifully-rounded body, even in size at flank, compared with girth over 
heart, has never before been seen on this continent or elsewhere. Adding to these qualities an 
absolutely perfect color,’extreme vigor and rich blood lines make him a charmer. 

Study his beautifully symmetrical make-up, as illustrated in his picture, all you may, yet 
you can never appreciate him until you have seen him. A half-minute’s look at him is sufficient 
to warm the soul of a fancier. Stud fee, SS0.00. 

We challenge the world for a purse of $500.00 to out-class him. Not for sale. 


















PRINCE OF THE REALM 

At 5 months. Weight 7J4 lbs. Sire, Champion Fashoda; dam, Gracie; she by imported Lord 
Britain and out of Bonanza Beauty. This is the best matured specimen, age considered, that 
we know of. He has ticking more abundant and fully as handsomely distributed as had his sire 
at twelve months of age, and his color is absolutely perfect and this, too, is something' re¬ 
markable. What his color will be when he gets his third coat is something that we are unable 
to predict, but invariably the color improves with the coming of each successive coat. For 
intelligence, spirit and vigor we never saw his equal. He is a prodigj'. Not for sale. 





THE SCORE-CARD SYSTEM OF 
JUDGING. 

We are, without reserve, in favor of 
the score-card system of determining 
the relative merits of hares, as the 
only practicable, aennite and permanent 
method of deciding the value of a speci¬ 
men and affording satisfactory means of 
comparison with other specimens. This 
is a new method and a radical departure 
from the method of judging by com¬ 
parison, which has obtained for so long 
in England. As an American invention 
and in the line of progress it naturally 
fails to find favor in the eyes of the 
English, who are wedded for life to their 
own ideas. Some American breeders 
and writers also, we are sorry to see, 
have taken up an agitation against this 
method. But we venture the prediction 
that, one year from now, no other 
method will be employed in this country. 
It may be that the score cards now in 
use—and there are several—are not per¬ 
fect. But the underlying principles are 
as firm as a rock and experience will 
demonstrate those changes necessary to 
make the system as near perfection 
as is possible in a world of imperfec¬ 
tions. 

In the first place, the score card is of 
tremendous advantage to every breeder 
and owner of a hare. The method of 
comparison, that is, placing two hares 
side by side and deciding which of the 
two is the better animal, then taking 
that winner ,and comparing it with 
another, and so on in endless chain, is 
impracticable for the breeder. He surely 
could not take a hare under his arm 
and go traveling over the country to com¬ 
pare it with all other hares. This would 
be expensive. Besides, after comparing 
one hare in this way, and learning 
whether it was better or poorer than 
all other hares, he would have to start 
out with another hare and make the 
same round. That would be ridiculous. 
There must be some standard of com¬ 
parison and a scale of units, ending in 
one hundred, is the only practicable scale 
in this case. 

If a breeder has once had his hares 
scored by a competent authority he then 
has something definite and permanent 
to go by. He can study the cards and 
the animals and form some sort of a 


definite mental conception of values in 
a hare. In the same way he can com¬ 
pare his own stock and their score cards, 
with the stock of other breeders. Having 
a definite value nxed to each element in 
the standard of excellence he can see 
wherein his stock excels and wherein it 
falls snort. He will himself, after some 
weeks or months of observation, become 
skilled in judging. Thus he is protected 
from those designing persons who would 
like to buy his stock tor one-fourth its 
value, because he knows what it is 
worth. In like manner he is protected 
from purchasing stock at twice or three 
times its value. Here is a money gain 
right at the start. By the system ot 
comparison he would have no record 
whatever except the impression upon his 
mind made at some exhibition which 
would become uncertain and indennite 
within a very brief period, tor no human 
being has a perfect memory. 


HONORABLE APPLICATION OF THE 

SCORE CARD SYSTEM OF JUDG¬ 
ING. 

Nothing can do as great injury to the 
Belgian hare industry as fraud practised 
either by presumptuous or by legiti¬ 
mately authorized scorers. Frauds in 
any or the channels of commerce wreck 
institutions. Confidence in a system ot 
judging the hare is of as great import¬ 
ance to the Belgian hare industry as is 
confidence in the stability of a bank 
to the success of its stockholders. Ficti¬ 
tious score cards, either overrating or 
underating the value of a specimen will 
destroy confidence in perhaps hundreds 
of people who are more or less interested 
and as many more who might become in¬ 
terested. A few instances of this kind 
scattered throughout the country will 
do almost irreparable injury to the in¬ 
dustry and turn many an intelligent 
possible recruit from entering the ranks 
of the fancy. 

In the judging of hares there is un¬ 
questionably, for quite a time to come, 
an almost unlimited room for imposi¬ 
tions by those who are unprincipled and 
care nothing for the good of vhe fancy 
but live in the present and for what 
money they can make out of it regard¬ 
less of injury done to others. Such a 





person is just as likely to score a 91 
point hare at 95 points, or even 06. And 
a trifle more money for his trouble would 
doubtless make him see the animal even 
higher in the scale of perfection and 
prompt him to make a valuation of 97 
or even g8 points, sign his name and 
let her go. But in this as in other 
lines, the survival of the fittest will 
ultimately obtain, but of course, this 
will never result until great numbers 
of people have been more or less injured 
in a financial way. 

The disposition of people to take for 
granted the say-so of Tom, Dick or 
Harry, the long-haired, Indian-fakir 
doctor, offers to the unprincipled, pre¬ 
sumptuous character of the same ilk 
a wide and profitable field for his ma- 


f chinations in the hare industry. When 
people awaken to the fact that stand¬ 
ard authorities in the judging of hares, 
or those who are truly expert and who 
excel in this capacity, are the proper 
persons upon whose judgment they 
should rely then will humbuggery, to a 
great extent, meet its death and the up¬ 
building of the industry make rapid 
strides and become a source of great 
pleasure and great profit as well. A 
religious application of the score card 
system of judging is an imperative 
necessity and the man or woman who 
will sacrifice the sacredness of this 
method of judging should be exposed 
and condemned, and, in fact, placed on a 
par with the criminal who obtains 
money by false pretense. 



Reduced fac-simile of the Crystal Palace Challenge Cup won by Fashoda at the great 
Pet Stock Exhibition in London, England, November 1st, 1899. 

























The BONANZA 
* RABBITRY 


930 GRAND VIEW AVE. 
LOS ANGELES, CAL. 


SOME ACCOUNTS OF ITS 
FOUNDING AND PROGRESS; 
ITS METHODS OF MANAGE¬ 
MENT; ITS UNSURPASSED 
IMPORTED AND NATIVE- 
BRED BELGIAN HARES; ITS 
EXPOSITION RECORD AND 
INDUCEMENTS TO BUYERS 


TIMES JOB PRINT 


PRESENTED BY 

DR. B. C. PLATT AND ELMER L. PLATT 
FOUNDERS AND PROPRIETORS 

Copyright by Dr. B. C. Platt, 1900. 







FASHODA, CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. 

Imported by,Bonanza Rabbitry, Dec. 3rd, 1899. Sired by Champion Edinboro; dam by Fairy King. Winner of every prize before 
him on the exhibition circuit of England, Season of 1899, including the great Crystal Palace Cup. Also winner of International 
Championship, prize, $100.00, February 1900, Los Angeles, California. Score 95% at 13% months of age, and four months after 
entering the stud. 











The Bonanza Rabbitry 




This booklet assumes that the reader knows something of the Belgian Hare, 
the graceful little animal now attracting the attention of wideawake people 
throughout the United States. It is not intended as a treatise upon the breed¬ 
ing, care and management of the Belgian, subjects fully discussed in the man¬ 
ual issued by the Bonanza Rabbitry, but rather as a guide in the selection of 
the best stock procurable in the United States. That means the best stock 
in the world, for the history of other varieties of imported live stock is being re¬ 
peated with the hare in respect to the fact that the skill and care of Amer¬ 
icans, aided by favorable climatic conditions, are developing animals of a finer 
type than the originals brought from older countries abroad. 

DESCRIPTION AND MERITS. 

The Belgian’s beauty, grace and gentleness make him attractive as a pet, and 
he is an ideal animal for the fancier, who seeks to breed individuals of the 
highest excellence, 'for he richly rewards any degree of care and study. But his 
most permanent merit will undoubtedly be found in the quantity of delicious 
meat which he furnishes at a less cost than poultry or any similar table delicacy. 
His flesh isi wonderfully sweet, juicy and delicate in flavor. It is an ideal 
food for invalids, for it is always tender, and is entirely free from grease 
or inferior fats, and causes no inflammation whatever. The broth may be taken 
with great benefit by patients recovering from any kind of 

fever. At three months of age the hare will dress from three 
to four pounds, and he will continue to take on a pound 

a month up to his sixth or seventh month. At full growth he weighs 
ten or twelve pounds. The thoroughbreds are far more delicious in flavor than 
the various crossings with inferior breeds which are palmed off on some pur¬ 
chasers as true Belgians. 

The prevailing color of the thoroughbred Belgian is a reddish tan, known as 
a “Rufus red.” This is not solid, but shows clearest on the shoulders and top 
of the neck. The haunches are of a grayish-brown shade. Each hair, on 
portions of the animal, is tipped with black, called “ticking.” This ticking 
gives a peculiarly rich appearance to the best fur. The head is graceful and 
carried well up. The eyes are prominent. The ears should be about five in¬ 
ches long, firmly carried. An edging of black, called lacing, extends over the 







4 


tips of the ears and well down the edges. The fore feet and legs are small. 
The hind legs are larger and very powerful. In build the best Belgians are 
long, slim and racy, narrow in front. The best meat is in the hind quarters, 
the hams and loins and along the sides. 

DEMAND AND SUPPLY. 

At present the demand for thoroughbred Belgians far exceeds the supply. It 
comes from two classes, families and others who desire to breed only a few 
hares, and from dealers who propose to go into the business on a large scale, 
to supply restaurants, hotels, or factories for canning the meat. The Belgian 
advertises itself wherever known. The flesh commands from twenty-five to 
thirty-five cents per pound dressed. The pelts are worth from twenty-five cents 
to $2.50 each, and are made into robes, rugs, capes, caps, muffs, coat linings 
and trimmings for gloves, etc. 

Prices vary with circumstances, from a few dollars for cheap, inferior stock, 
fit only for meat and that not the best, to several hundred dollars for high¬ 
bred, fancy animals. Five hundred dollars each, and even more, has been paid 
for imported specimens. From fifteen to fifty dollars each for good animals 
of breeding age is a common price and choice specimens from which first-class 
exhibition types may be bred command many times the bet¬ 
ter price. The buyer should decide upon what phase of this 
industry he desires to embark, whether for market purpose, or for the 
possession of high-bred animals from which to breed stock to sell to found 
breeding herds, and should then consult a reputable dealer who will quote 
prices in accordance with reasonable values. 

CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 

The Belgian brings double profits with half the labor and cost, as compared 
with poultry. The Belgian is never troubled with vermin, and with few dis¬ 
eases except colds. Hardy, carefully bred stock is almost uniformly healthy. 
A piece of land half the size of an ordinary city lot is enough for a good 
rabbitry. A still smaller space will do for few pens to produce hares for the 
home table. But they can be grown by the wholesale if desired. One man 
can care for one thousand breeding does if they are confined in paddocks of an 
eighth of an acre each, with twenty-five does and one buck to each pad- 
dock. 

The hare is a dainty feeder, and will eat no coarse or unwholesome food. 
Yet it is very easily fed. It thrives on good clover hay, alfalfa, sugar beets 
carrots, rutabagas, oats, corn, wheat or barley. Straw and clean trimmings 
from deciduous fruit trees, which the hare will strip of buds and bark. Some 


5 


coarse straw should be supplied at all times. The above are their standard 
foods, but they will eat many other grains, grasses, cereals, vegetables and some 
fruits. 

INCREASE AND PROFIT. 

The hare is wonderfully prolific. Each doe will bear a litter, averaging 
eight, every two months, and the mother and all the young will be healthy and 
vigorous. They would produce litters even more frequently if permitted. A 
carefully computed table, published in our manual, shows that the progeny of a 
single pair of Belgians, if permitted to increase and multiply without inter¬ 
ference, would amount in two years to 16,386. If the increase were carried on 
to five years it would reach the enormous total of 4,305,181,681. The young 
of a single doe, in one year, will by their growth through the year, amount to 
the aggregate of 300 pounds of the finest meat grown anywhere. By holding 
all does she produces, till they have one to three litters, the pounds of meat 


will exceed 

1500 

within 

one 

year. 

This at 20 cents 

per 

pounds will 

be 

worth 

$300.00 a 

value greatly in excess 

of 

the increase 

of 

a cow 

or 

any 

other domesticated animal. 

This 


value does not include the returns from the pelts which may amount to 
as much more. An outlay of money sufficient to enable a family to engage 
in the dairy business will bring five times the returns from Belgian hares with 
far less disagreeable labor. There is no other business of supplying the 
staples for human' existence at present before the public in which there is 
so iittle competition or such sure return upon the investment. There is none 
so well adapted to so many classes of people, families, elderly people, women 
who wish or are compelled to live by their own labor, professional men who 
have a little leisure, teachers, ranchersand almost everybody else. 

THE BONANZA RABBITRY. 

Jit 

The Bonanza Rabbitry, at 930 Grand View Ave., was founded in 1895, as a 
result of a gift of a pair of rabbits to an eight-year-old boy, Elmer, the son 
of Dr. B. C. Platt. From this insignificant commencement has grown a busi¬ 
ness returning an income of several thousand dollars a year and now upon a basis 
likely to double or treble these returns in the coming year. 

From boyhood Dr. Platt had been associated with scientific and practical 
breeders of high types of horses, cattle and smaller livestock, 
and had himself become a recognized authority upon stock rais¬ 
ing. He saw the possibilities of the Belgian as the foun¬ 
dation of a profitable industry as soon as this now well-known little 
creature began to be understood in America. He gradually added other speci- 


6 


mens to the original pair given to his son, as a basis for observation and ex¬ 
periment. His first effort was to breed for table use and he found the Belgian 
to be a delicacy entirely new to him and of a very high quality, especially 
from the standpoint of health and economy. The fecundity of the hare, its 
popularity among all who tasted of the flesh and the high price readily paid 
for it soon convinced Dr. Platt that the Belgian was sure to prove a bonanza 
to the America people, hence the name that he early gave to his rabbitry. 

A year devoted to experiments confirmed this belief and led up to the found¬ 
ing of the first extensive rabbitry in the West. The best stock obtainable on 
the continent was at once procured as a foundation. Various new strains were 
added from time to time, improving the quality and evolving the latest types. 
Aired by the favorable climatic conditions of Southern California, Dr. Platt 
devoted two more years to successful efforts in breeding the earliest matured 
specimens of the Belgian, in the shortest possible time, at the least possible 
expense. The individuals thus secured surpassed every thing then known here 
in size, fecundity, vigor and beauty. This period brought the development of the 
Bonanza Rabbitry up to the fall of 1898. 


BIRTH OF THE NEW INDUSTRY. 


At this time the breeding capacity of the Bonanza Rabbitry had been in¬ 
creased to an annual output of over three thousand. The demands for Bel¬ 
gians exceed even this large supply in the ratio of ten to one. The methods 
of breeding and management have been thus proved so far superior to any 
others, Dr. Platt determined to give them to the world and published an illus¬ 
trated treatise to which he gave as a title the name of his rabbitry. This 
book, although not of huge proportions, is still the most elaborate ever put 
forth devoted exclusively to the Belgian. It fully sets forth the writer’s 
original ideas, such as the ground-floor, open-air system of pens, far superior 
to the old-fashioned, narrow, confined box hutches arranged in tiers one above 
the other. It also gives full directions on all matters of breeding, rearing, 
feeding, marketing and management in general, answering every question for 
the benefit of the amateur and directing veteran fanciers in the paths of prog¬ 
ress. 

Certain advertisements of unique design illustrated by pictures of beautiful 
specimens, attracted far wider attention than had been anticipated, being copied 
free of charge by several important Eastern publications. This instance alone 
indicated the readiness with which the American people grasp at a clear pre¬ 
sentation of a practical and taking theme. These advertisements brought large 



CHERUB at 8 months of age. Bred at Bonanza Rabbitry. 

Weight 9 lbs., score 94X- Winner of first prize in his class and headed many groups on which we won nine special prizes at the Los Angeles 
Exposition, February, 1900. Reserved for our stud. Sire, L°rd Britain; dam, Avalanche who won first and special prize and gold medal at 
Chicago, 1898. 





8 


sales of the book and thousands of letters of inquiry, resulting in a general 
awakening of interest and in sales from the Bonanza Rabbitry of stock sent 
to all parts of the continent. This rapidly growing interest brought about the 
present enormous and continually increasing demand for choice specimens to 
establish breeding herds. This book has always sold at one dollar per copy. It 
is uow in its third large edition. 


THE BONANZA RABBITRY OF TODAY. 

■jt .j* 


The Bonanza Rabbitry is now every day the center of a marked interest. Visit¬ 
ors without exception express themselves as greatly pleased with the methods 
and the results shown there. “This is common sense.” “This looks like business,” 
and similar remarks of approval testify to their satisfaction. The pens afford 
the largest freedom possible for the hares in a state of captivity, full protection 
from inclement weather and a reduction of labor to the minimum. They 
are also constructed with the greatest economy consistent with portability and 
durability. All of these pens are fitted with improved devices, the inventions 
of the proprietor, for economy of labor, saving of feed, and for supplying an 
abundance of perfectly clean food and water at all times. These devices make 
it possible for a twelve-year-old boy to care for three hundred head during his 
morning and evening hours attending school regularly. This rabbitry is kept 
sweet and clean by the use of very simple methods and without the em¬ 
ployment of artificial deodorizers. Many of the fixtures used are patented. 
Those who have adopted these methods and have started with good stock 
for foundation purposes have been uniformly successful. Many of them have 
realized within a year profits ranging from seven dollars to sixty for every 
dollar invested. 

There are about two hundred of these modern pens at this rabbitry and ad¬ 
ditions are constantly being made. To accommodate breeding does and their 
progeny three pens should be allowed for each breeding doe. The intention 
is finally to have five hundred breeding does in this rabbitry. There are now 
about eighty. These have been gradually changed and improved until they now 
represent sixteen distinct strains of the very best blood in the world. The 
great strength of this rabbitry is in its does, a point in which many rabbitries 
are inferior. Most breeders seem to think that the reputation of the bucks is all 
sufficient. But at the Bonanza Rabbitry equal attention is paid to the se¬ 
lection of the does. In fact the proprietor believes that the doe is equally im¬ 
portant with the buck for the production of the best types. 


9 



FAIRY QUEEN, imported by Bonanza Rabbitry, Dec. 3rd, 1899. 

At six months of age; weight 7^ibs., score 9424. Sire, Champion Priory Prince; dam, by Red King, 
heby Champion Unicorn. Reserved as a breeder. 




io 


SCIENTIFIC BREEDING. 

•j* 

Science and intelligence produce results from the Belgian just as they have 
produced our noble Jersey and cur spirited and magnificent families of blooded 
horses, from the beautifully colored, symmetrical and graceful Arabian, through 
the kings of the English turf to the Kentucky thoroughbreds and our famous 
American harness horses. The first principle of scientific breeding, as applied 
to the Belgian, lies in an ability to select and mate individuals for producing 
definite results in higher types approaching the ideal. This ability is a rare 
accomplishment. Hence the breeding of improved types is, for the few who can 
bring it about, a permanent and profitable industry. There is a short cut for 
establishing points of excellence, as required by the standard of excellence, 
namely, inbreeding. Many fanciers adopt this means with a certain degree of 
temporary benefit in money returns. But in the end this process is disastrous 
and often leads to final abandonment of the business. Breeding closely related 
hares may establish points of color or other points desired but also brings 
weak constitutions and a tendency to contract colds, which is the greatest ob¬ 
stacle to success in this industry. 

On the other hand, outcrossing, judiciously employed, lends additional vi¬ 
tality to the progeny. Therefore, although the points sought for may not be 
secured so quickly as by inbreeding, nevertheless there is no comparison as to 
final results. For hares without vigor are sources of neither pleasure nor profit. 
There are rabbitries in this section which illustrate these contrasts. Some of 
these are supplied with all sorts of appliances for prolonging life, including a 
nursery and a drug department. There is nothing of this sort at the Bonanza 
Rabbitry. On the contrary there is every evidence of health, thrift and vigor 
in the herd. Dr. Platt’s theories of breeding and management as set forth in 
his book, are all rational, natural and thoroughly up to date. The specimens pro¬ 
duced here are acknowledged by all to be marvels of beauty. 

THE BONANZA'S RECENT IMPORTATIONS. 

*** 

Recently many importations of hares have been brought from England, but 
there has been great difficulty in securing the very finest specimens. English 
breeders have justly criticised the American for wanting the best but being 
unwilling to pay the very high prices demanded for them. England has been 
supplying not only America, but France, Germany, Austria and other countries. 
Consequently English breeders have been able to place astounding prices upon 



BEAUTY NOBLE at 7 months of age. Bred at Bonanza Rabbitry. 

Weight 8 lbs., score 95Sire, Lord Britain; dam. Bonanza Beauty. Reserved for our stud. 












12 


the choicest products of their herds. In addition to the high prices there have 
been great difficulties and much risk in bringing the hares some seven thousand 
miles over land and sea. It has been a common thing for importers to lose at 
least two-fifths of each importation from weaknesses resulting from the close 
confinement of the journey or from colds contracted during the voyage. 

Dr. Platt determined not only to secure the very best specimens which 
money would buy, but also to bring them to Los Angeles in good condition. 
Prolonged negotiations and liberal payments secured the animals desired and 
thoughtfulness and ingenuity brought them here in the pink of condition. Spe¬ 
cially devised crates were made and sent to England to receive the hares. These 
were so constructed that each hare had plenty of room for exercise, shelter from 
draughts, with an abundance of fresh air, clean and wholesome food. The crates 
were also self-cleaning. Each hare had room to stand erect, to keep up his 
muscular power and to stretch himself at will. When they arrived in Los 
Angeles they were alert and hearty as a bird in the air and fit to go at once 
upon the exhibition table. 

This importation consisted of two does and four bucks, all beautiful speci¬ 
mens. The does are Fairy Queen and Countess of Warwick. The bucks still 
in our possession are Champion Fashoda and Blooming Heather. A third buck, 
American Boy, was sold, and we were so unfortunate as to lose the fourth, 
Brilliant, by illness, a few weeks after his arrival. All except Brilliant and 
Fashoda were in the six-months class when imported. All were first choice 
from twenty litters, resulting from the twenty best matings ever made in 
England. 

Brilliant was a grand young buck, eleven months old when imported. We 
may say here that the importation arrived at our rabbitry December 3, 1899. 
Brilliant was believed to be destined to capture the highest prizes in the ex¬ 
hibition circles of England, until the the dark horse, Champion Fashoda, ap¬ 
peared on the scene unexpectedly and was found to be superior to anything ever 
produced. These hares were the best that England could produce and English 
breeders disliked to see the shipment leave their shores knowing that it was 
leaving their own herds lacking in their strongest breeding specimens. 

We valued Brilliant very highly and regretted his loss keenly. Although 
apparently a very strong and vigorous animal, full of vim and vitality, he must 
have had, at some period early in his life, a serious illness, and the radical 
change of climate and surroundings from England to Southern California 
brought on another attack from which he died. This is a risk which the enter¬ 
prising importer cannot avoid, although it adds immeasurably to the hazard 
involved. We are partly consoled for the loss of Brilliant by the fact that we 
had several does bred to him and have therefore secured a number of his pro¬ 
geny, which now have an especial value since they cannot be duplicated. 

We shall fully describe Fairy Queen, the Countess of Warwick, Fashoda and 
Blooming Heather in the following pages, in connection with other members 
of our unequalled breeding herd. All these hares stand very strong on their 



BONANZA KING at 10 months of age. 

The longest bodied buck'seen oil the continent. Sire, Champion Yukon; Dam, Princess Second. We have many of his 
daughters reserved as breeders. 




14 


front toes, showing strength of lirnL and no weakness. All have the same 
beautiful tint in color, particularly noticeable in their hind legs and feet, a rich 
rufus red from the roots of their black toe nails to the hock joint, and entirely 
around the leg. 

OUR EXHIBITION RECORD. 

Dr. B. C. Platt, the manager of the Bonanza Rabbitry was 
also the general manager of the American Breeders of Belgian 
Hares, an incorporation consisting of leading breeders of Los 
Angeles and neighboring cities. This corporation was organized 
to advance the interest of the Belgian Hare industry in every way, com¬ 
mercial and scientific. Its most noteworthy achievement up to the present 
time was the organization and successful carrying out of a Fair, Mart and 
Feast, held at Los Angeles, February 8, 9 and 10, 1900. This was the great¬ 
est show devoted exclusively to Belgians ever held. 

There were eighty classes of entries and over 1100 Belgians in competition. 
Of these, 360 passed through the judge’s hands, the judging and scoring oc¬ 
cupying nearly three days. During the three days of this exposition it was 
visited by nearly fifteen thousand people. The prizes were by far the largest 
ever offered. The first prizes in each class (two, one for the best buck and 
one for the best doe) ranged from $15 to $100, the latter being offered for the 
international championship. Besides the cash prizes there were many valuable 
special prizes. 

The judging at this exhibition was performed under the constant and direct 
supervision of a committee of twelve leading citizens of Los Angeles, who had 
it absolutely under their control. The official judge was Mr. P. E. Crabtree, 
of Denver, the best authority in America on Belgian Hares, the man whose 
decision carries greater weight than that of any other, because of his acknowl¬ 
edged skill, experience and fairness. To make the competition absolutely se¬ 
cure from even a suspicion of unfairness the committee permitted no exhibitor 
to converse with Mr. Crabtree until after the competition was over and the 
prizes were awarded. A system was adopted which brought each animal, in 
turn, into the hands of the judge without any knowledge whatever, on his 
part, as to its ownership. 

At this exhibition and under these rigid conditions we secured the following 
long list of prizes: 

ALL-CASH PRIZES. 


International Championship, open to the world.—Purse of $100.00, won by our 
famous buck, Fashoda. 

In classified Foreign-bred Stock—Buck six months and under eight, we won 


15 



RUBY PRINCE at 5 months of age. 

Weight 7J4 lbs., score 95*4. Sire, imported Rochdale, winner of the great Rochdale prize in 
England in 1898; dam, Lady Alden, daughter of imported Lord Banbury and out of imported 
Melba, a doe whose product brought to her owner in the year of 1899 a sum of $1400.00. Re¬ 
served for ou r stud. 




i6 


second with Blooming Heather, $10. Matured does, we won third with Fairy 
Queen, $5. 

In American-bred Stock.—Eight-months buck, we won first with 
Cherub, $15; four months and under six, first with Superb, $15. In same 
class our doe, Molly Bawn, won third, $5. Under four months we won first 
with both buck and doe, $15 each. The winning buck was Crown Prince; doe, 
Nellie Bly. 

Heavy-weight Class.—We won first doe with Jewel, weight thirteen pounds 
and six ounces, prize, $15. This was our only entry in this class and Jewel is 
of strictly Belgian breeding, having no admixture of Flemish blood. She is a 
result of special feeding, breeding and care for several generations. 

SPECIAL PRIZES. 


First.—Gold Medal and $50, for best exhibit of California-bred stock. 

First for highest scoring buck of our breeding, dropped by doe owned by ex¬ 
hibitor at date of birth of specimen, 5,000 shingles valued at $12.50, won by 
Cherub with a score of 94 3-4. 

First for highest scoring doe of own breeding, owned by exhibitor at date of 
birth of specimen, 5,000 shingles valued at $12.50, won by Sweetness with a 
score of 94 1-4. 

First for best display by owner of stock from his own mating and rearing, 
Climax Solar water heater, valued at $30. 

First for best display of American-bred stock, buggy robe, valued at $5. 

First for best display of California-bred stock, Atlas of the World, valued 
at $8. 

First for best display of Southern California-bred stock, a Stoddard barrel 
churn, valued at $10. 

First for best pair of hares bred in Southern California, a suit of clothes, 
won by Cherub and Sweetness. 

First for best exhibit for boy under 18 years of age, Webster’s Unabridged Dic¬ 
tionary, $10.00. 

First for exhibitor receiving the highest grand total of scores on specimens 
of Standard-bred Belgians of his own breeding, half ton of Paradise Valley 
oats, valued at $17.50. 

First for exhibitor having the most attractive booth. 

First for the best method of displaying exhibition stock. 

This makes a grand total of six firsts, one second, two thirds and twelve 
specials, twenty-one in all. We received $245 in cash, and special prizes worth 
$128, a total of $373. 

This competition is the only one, so far, at which we have had an opportunity 
to display our herd, but we shall be thoroughly prepared for any future com¬ 
petition in this line. Our record at this show stands absolutely unequaled by 


17 



PRIMROSE AND SWEETNESS. Property of Bonanza Rabbitry. 

Litter sisters at 9 months. Sired by imported Lord Britain; dam, Bonanza Beauty. Scores 94% and 94%; weight 10 lbs. each. 
Bred at Bonanza Rabbitry and reserved as breeders. A little sister of these does. Lady Vic, won the American Championship 
Prize, $50, at the great Los Angeles Exposition, Mart and Feast, Feb. 1900. Lady Vic weighs 11 lbs. Another litter sister, 
Britain Maid, weighs 11% lbs., and while nursing a litter, scored 94 and was sold for $340.00. 




i8 


breeder or dealer in any country. We bred all of the animals that we ex¬ 
hibited except three, which we imported. 

The English bred stock at this show received a punishment of from one 
point to one and a half points for lack of weight. English breeders have con¬ 
tended that it is impossible to get the fine lines demanded in the standard 
of excellence in an animal weighing eight pounds or over. Champion Fashoda 
is an exception to this rule, reaching nearly nine pounds in weight. English 
breeders use condiments in the food of their hares, in an effort to give them 
appetite, color and vigor. We never use anything of the sort as we believe 
that its ultimate result is a deterioration. We believe that a large part of 
the loss in imported animals is due to the change in the manner of feeding 
as well as to the sudden change in climate and to the wear and tear of the 
long journey across the Atlantic and a part or all of the American continent 
to the rabbitries of their new owners. We have sent stock of our own breed¬ 
ing and reared in ground floor, open air pens into all the different climates in 
the United States with no complaint whatever of sickness or loss of life. 

The winner of the American-bred championship doe weighed eleven pounds 
and was bred by the Bonanza Rabbitry. Two little sisters of this winner weighed 
respectively nine and nine and three-fourths pounds, and were a tie with her 
in the competition. Another sister, which was not on exhibition, on account 
of an injury to a hock joint, has a score of 943-4 and weighs 11 1-4 pounds. 
These three does we still have. Our hares went into this competition with¬ 
out any special fitting, or attention to preparation for exhibition, in such points 
as grooming, putting a luster on the coat, or gaunting by restricting bulky 
foods. 

Until a very recent period no such hares as these were brought to America 
but all the hares to be found in California were lacking in style, shape, sym¬ 
metry, color and alertness. Inferior animals came from England for a period 
of seven years and it was no wonder that Americans saw nothing attractive 
about them except the fact that they were fairly good eating. The descendants 
of these are now abundant throughout the land and are no more to be 
compared with the later and higher type than a bulky draft horse is to be 
compared with a Kentucky thoroughbred, or a mongrel cur with a greyhound. 
But these distinctions are difficult to make, except when one can see the higher 
and the poorer types side by side. 

We now have eighty breeding hares with absolutely red hind feet, painted 
by the hand of nature, not, as in the case of some bare-faced frauds of which 
we have recently heard, by the hand of man. The hind foot of the hare in¬ 
cludes all that portion of the leg which rests upon the ground, in his peculiar 
gait, and extends from the toes to the hock joint. It is about five inches long. 
The ears in the new type are a beautiful golden tan. The body color must 
contain an abundance of fiery red, with plentiful ticking, and a rose-gold un¬ 
der color on the body, back and sides, tapering off on the sides into a Gold 





BLOOMING HEATHER, imported by Bonanza Rabbitry, December 3rd, 1899. 

t 8 months of age. Weight lbs., score 94 % at 6 months of age. Half-brother to our great Champion Fashoda; sire, Champion Edinboro; 
am, by Champion Malton Mystery. Reserved for our stud. 






20 


of Ophir rose-tint which in turn, mingles with the snowy white of the belly. 
The color under the jaws should be a cream. 

Another feature of the hares raised in open-air, ground-flour pens is that their 
absolute freedom and exposure to light produces a beautiful, large, round eye 
with a brilliancy of expression truly admirable. Hares raised in a barn or un¬ 
der cover are certainly lacking in brilliancy of the eye. And this means a 
lack of snap and vigor and of that vitality which is really the foundation of 
health. In open competition with all the best specimens obtainable, and with 
those housed and fed on color food, etc., etc. We have shown that hares are not 
improved in color by being deprived of light and sunshine. 

We lay no claim to having the largest establishment in the world, but we are 
the largest dealers in animals of our own breeding in this or any other country. 
We are strictly breeders, not hucksters or speculators in hares bred by other 
people. We breed what we sell and sell only what we breed. Buyers run no 
risk in the quality of the ancestry in what we sell, no risk of the dye wash¬ 
ing off, exposing white feet the first time the hares get wet. Ours was the 
largest exhibit at the Los Angeles show and comprised one hundred and thirty- 
three head. That was less than one-third of what we could have shown if 
our manager had not also been the general manager of the corporation con¬ 
ducting the show and overwhelmed with his duties in that connection. All of 
these animals, with three exceptions, were bred by ourselves and won more and 
higher prizes than were ever before acquired by any one breeder or exhibitor 
in this class of live stock and made a higher aggregate score. We were defeated 
in first prizes in only two classes in which we competed and in one of these we 
won second, in the other third. In each class the winners above us were hares of 
our breeding which we had previously sold. This was true of the animal 
which took the championship prize of fifty dollars for American-bred doe, 
named Lady Vic. Her litter sister Britain Maid, sold during the exposition 
for $ 340 . The three animals in our exhibit not bred by us were imported by 
us because they were able to win over all comers in their own homes. We looked 
for these for thirteen months until we secured them and for sixteen months 
until we received them at our rabbitry. So that they were really bred and 
bom while we were looking for them. 



PRIZE WINNER'S CERTIFICATE. 



rJl! P^sent herewith a reduced fac-simile~oToi^f the twent’y^nT^rtifi- 
this exposition 116 B ° nanZa Rabbitr y received accompanying the prizes taken at 




















22 


INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION IN SCORING. 

A novel and valuable feature of this exposition was an institute, or school 
of instruction in scoring and judging hares, over which the official judge, Mr. 
P. E. Crabtree, presided. There were fifteen members in this class who re¬ 
ceived thorough training in the art. As a result they have acquired a most 

valuable expert knowledge of the way to determine both the merits and the 
defects of their own Belgians as well as of any others that may be submitted 
to them for scoring. This course of instruction was based upon the methods 
employed by the leading authorities in this country, using the score card in¬ 
vented by Mr. Crabtree, the only means of securing an exact and permanent 
record of the rating and value of a Belgian. Our manager, Dr. B. C. Platt, 
was an enthusiastic member of this class and finds the experience and knowl¬ 
edge thus acquired invaluable in his work. Following is a reduced fac-simile 
of the diploma awarded to him by the officers of the incorporation in connec¬ 
tion with this feature of the exposition. It will be seen that Dr. Platt in the 
blind test at scoring tied the record made by Judge Crabtree, the instructor 
of the class. 


V* V* 


At the convention of the National Association of Belgian Hare Judges, re¬ 
cently held in Los Angeles, Califofnia, our Dr. B. C. Platt was elected presi- 
ent. 

Dr. Platt will receive hares for scoring and furnish score cards. Fee, $i for 
each specimen. Scientific advice on mating pairs, fee, $2 per pair. This advice 
is furnished in writing and constitutes a chart, delineating the defects as well 
as the desirable qualities of the various sections of the specimens under con¬ 
sideration. 

Arrangements for the judging of exhibitions, advice on conducting the same, 
with advice and instruction as to managing rabbitries and also for scoring 
herds, may be made by correspondence. 

As to our financial and business standing, we refer by permission to the Citi¬ 
zens’ Bank of Los Angeles, Cal. 


23 



CERTIFICATE IN SCORING AWARDED TO B. C. PLATT. 




























OUR HERD OF HIGH-CLASS BREEDERS. 


Following is a description of some of the fine animals from which we are 
now breeding: 

CHAMPION FASHODA heads our herd and is acknowledged to be the nearest 
approach to the ideal in existence. 

Fashoda is a phenomenon, a happy product of scientific mating producing the 
fortunate results that sometimes follow the best directed efforts 
in the breeding of live-stock. A great race horse, for instance, may beget 
scores of youngsters that will trot in the 2:20 class, but only one in a lifetime 
with the combined qualities of body and brain, the speed, the endurance, the 
intelligence and the pluck, to lower a world’s record. So Fashoda is the climax 
in a long line of great ancestors and a multitude of worthy descendants. 

Fashoda is the only living buck approaching perfection in style, symmetry 
and color and also of standard weight. In fact, he is nearly a pound over the 
standard. Before him the best breeders of England—and that means of the world 
—found it impossible to unite the fine lines desired in the ideal with the full 
size and weight demanded by the standard of excellence. As to his form and 
symmetry we can only refer the reader to the excellent reproduction of a 
photograph which we give as a frontispiece to this booklet and to an inspec¬ 
tion of Fashoda’s score card which we also present, at the close of this de¬ 
scription, for symmetry and form in a hare is something impossible of accurate 
description by words alone. We can only repeat that, in these respects as in 
all others, he is the very best that the world has produced. 

When we come to the element of color we find that Fashoda possesses a rich, 
rose-gold, under-color, together with beautiful, broadly-defined and wavy tick¬ 
ing distributed to a nicety, giving to his coat a luster and depth of color equal 
to mahogany tint, extending from head to tail, from vertebrae all but to hocks, 
and nearly full depth of sides. The lacing of his ears could scarcely be better, 
and from the lacing, over the outer surface of the ears, extends the rare and 
beautiful tint best described as a golden tan. A breadth of this also shades 
the sparkling ticking of the sides into the snowy white of his belly, and un¬ 
der his jaws, blends with the brilliant flush of the rufus-red on his broad, 
splendidly arched breast. All of his feet are of the indefinable coloring now 
the object of every fancier’s efforts and the most difficult element to attain 
in the whole standard of perfection. This wonderful shade is really a new 
thing in nature. It resembles a mahogany but has a brighter luster. It is like 
a wine color but not so deep a shade. It might be called maroon but is a 
little darker. Define it as you may it gives a finish to the whole effect as yet 
rarely seen upon Belgians. 

Fashoda has strikingly large and brilliant eyes of exactly the correct shade 
of hazel, beaming with intelligence, spirit and docility. His bearing is alert 


25 



BONANZA BEAUTY, born August, 1898. 


Sired by imported Champion Yukon; dam, Princess (Crabtree’s). This doe has produced within a period of 
one year stock that has sold, or could have been sold, for a valuation of S3400.00. She and a Utter sister, 
Avalanche, reserved for breeders. 










26 


and strong. He assumes, of his own accord, poses that are models of grace, and 
the immediate effect, upon every one who sees him, is that of a beautiful wild 
creature reduced to a congenial captivity where all may admire him. 

We may summarize this description of Fashoda by quoting from some of 
those who saw and knew him before he came into our possession. He cap¬ 
tured twelve first prizes on the exhibition circuit of England in 1899, also 
seven specials, four medals and four challenge cups, including the 
Crystal Palace cup, valued at $250, a trophy offered by the largest pet-stock 
association in the world, which holds an exhibition in London every year. An 
English authority says: 

“His feet and legs are enough to turn the eyes of a breeder green with envy,” 
and again, “An absolutely correct style and front.” Another, “The best ever 
seen.’’ Still others say, “With age he gets more beautiful,” and “With his 
new coat in full bloom he will be the ideal.” All say, “He wins easily in 
any company,” and “He is the popular winner,” and again, “The crack Belgian 
of the period.” Popular sires produce popular young, who sell at popular 
prices, and are always sought after by progressive breeders. 

An old gentleman of refinement and culture, after watching our hares and es¬ 
pecially Fashoda, the other day, for nearly an hour, remarked: “This is a treat 
equal to looking at beautiful women. The more you look at them the more 
you want to.” 

Following is the official score awarded to Fashoda at the Los Angeles ex¬ 
position, a card which constitutes a record the same as the record of speed 
made by a trotter or pacer in a race under competent authority. This is the 


score: 


27 



(iNCOBPOftATTO) 

> nr Ap-Ju HEADOUABTIRS: LOS AMiElfS, CAL, U.SJL 


C. PLATT. Presid 
H. C. HALFPENNY. 

MRS. S. C. MARTIN. Seen . 

MRS. J. F BOYD. Treason 

E. Crabtre 


. Den' 


C. E. Goods 


Mr* 


San Jow 
i D. Gum 


Card No. 
Register No. 

a ' 


Angeles Dr. B. 


PUu, Los Angeles. H. C. Halfpenn 

Mr- S. C. Martin. Los Angelet 
J F. Boyd. Los Angeles: E.M. Hi 
Oakland: J. R. Gutter?. L.L.D.. S 
rbara: Dr L. C. Boyd. Los Angeles. 
S. Boat. Los Angeles. E. F. Melville. 
■ Angeles. 



Scon 
Jadga 

Addres* 3lI^2A/^L 



Cl* 

Un 

Shape i 

Color 

Quality 


Body 

4 

4 

— 

4 


Aten «! Straj bb 

4- 

+ 


4 

Color 

20 

Sides ... . 

4- 

4 


4 


Hindquarters 

-4- 

4 


4 


Jaws - 

+- 

4 


4 

Ticking IS 


4- 

4 

3 /Y 

4 


Bely _ 

+ 

— 

4 

4 


Plank and Rib 

4- 

Tv 

4 

4 

Symmetry 

20 

Back .. 

4 


4 

4 


Lotus-... 

+ 

— 

4 

4 


Head. . 

-4- 

Tv 

4 

4 

Ears 

Lacing .. 

4 

4 

Tv 

4 

10 

Otherwise _ 

— 

—■ 

S/V 

T? 

Eyes 10 


— 

— 



Legs & Feet 

Fore Feet ... 

— 

Tr 

— 

— 

10 

Hind Feet. 

4 

4- 

— 

4 

Size 5 

-- 

— 

4 

4 

4 

Condition 

Flesh 

+ 

+ 

4 

— 

5 

For .. 

4 

4 

4 

— 

Neck 6 

-- 

+ 


4 

4 



_ _- 






°Vv 

Perfection 

Imperfections . 

..... 10 0 , 

-. vA 



(2 8 . 


ATtNT APPtjrD I 


REDUCED FAC SIMILE OF OFFICIAL SCORE CARD OF N. A. of B. H. J. 









































































28 


BLOOMING HEATHER is a half-brother to Champion Fashoda. His dam is by 
the most noted sire ever known, old Champion Malton Mystery, winner 
of forty-one prizes, and this breeding is an instance which proves 
that blood will tell. We have, in Blooming Heather, in his youthful form of 
eight months, a perfection of development that is rare. This is especially 
seen in the color of his feet. There is not a shading except the deepest of the 
rich color already described in Fashoda. In Blooming Heather we have an ear 
a trifle short of the standard in length, but so beautifully set, so fine in 
shape and with the folds so well defined, that he is really more valuable as 
a breeder than he would be if his ears were of full length or more, because there 
are so many coarse-eared does in the country that the tendency is to lop and 
to develop out of proportion. 

Another attractive feature of Blooming Heather is his unusually long tail, 
with a superabundance of fluffy white down on the under side. There is so 
much of this, both in length and breadth, that it gives a finish, when carried 
over his back and contrasted with the beautiful shades of his body, hips and 
haunches, that is decidedly taking. His head is more like that of a doe than 
like that of a buck. In alertness and spirit he is like the trained wild animals 
that one sees at the circus. He springs to the top of his cage with a bound and 
is always full of life and action, buoyancy and vigor. His first litter was out 
of Avalanche, and was a litter of ten. None of the litters that we have had 
from him have been less than nine. We prize Blooming Heather as the cap 
sheaf of our herd, Fashoda not excepted, and advance the prediction that, 
barring accidents, the world will hear from him and that his record will not 
fall short of that of Fashoda. 

BEAUTY’S NOBLE is a buck sired by Lord Britain, dam Bonanza Beauty. 
She by Champion Yukon out of Crabtree’s Princess, a doe now four years of age 
and never beaten on the exhibition table. This animal is built upon lines much 
finer than are often seen in a buck. We fearlessly challenge any American- 
bred buck to compete with him. His head is simply perfect. Contour and 
style throughout are of the best. His brothers and sisters in three litters have 
been sold or could have been sold for sums aggregating $2,250. His dam has now 
by her side a litter of nine by Champion Fashoda that wall raise the produc¬ 
tion of this doe, wdthin the period of one year, to a sum total of $3,500. Both 
the hind and front legs of Beauty’s Noble have all the qualities that can be 
ascribed to those of any hare. 

RUBY PRINCE.—By Rochdale, dam, Lady Alden, she by imported Lord Ban¬ 
bury and out of Melba, imported, a doe that brought Mr. Gilman, of Denver, in 
1899, $1,400 cash from sales. This shows, in a single sentence, that Ruby Prince 
has behind him the best of blood, and, in his immature form, he shows quality 
from the end of his nose to the tip of his tail. His front legs and feet are 
simply perfect and his hind legs and feet are equally good. In the beautiful 
effect of this buck’s body, in his present five-months’ form, we have never seen 
color, ticking and rufus red coming so spontaneously. Here, indeed, we have 
color to spare. 


29 



SWEET MARIE. 

At 5 months. Weight 7 lbs. Score 94%. Sire, Lord Cayenne ; dam. Princess May. 
One of two sisters reserved'aslbreeders. 




3° 


CHERUB.—A buck bred by the Bonanza Babbitry. Sire, Lord Britain, dam 
Avalanche, a doe that won first special and medal at Chicago a year ago. 
Cherub weighs nine pounds and attains a combination of size and quality for 
which the owners of the Bonanza Rabbitry have been striving for a period of 
four years. He was scored in competition, under rigid conditions. He was cut 
half a point for lack of shape in flank, due to a lack of the better condition 
that could have been given to him by proper food and sufficient care. His 
score, under these circumstances, was g4 3-4. Cherub has plenty of style, car¬ 
ries his head well up, good length of front leg and extra length of body. In 
his immature stage, eight months, Cherub won first prize in his class, and, 
with Sweetness, won a special prize, a suit of clothes valued at $15, for the 
best pair of hares bred by breeder or exhibitor in Southern California. He was 
at the head of the group that won a special prize of one and a half tons of Par¬ 
adise Valley oats for the highest grand total of scores for standard-bred Bel¬ 
gians bred and owned by exhibitor. He was also at the head of the group that 
won a Webster’s unabridged dictionary; of another group that won an atlas 
of the world. He also won a special prize of 5,000 shingles to the breeder ex¬ 
hibiting the buck of his own breeding making the highest score of the exposi¬ 
tion. Was also at the head of the group that won the State prize for California- 
bred stock, a medal and fifty dollars in cash. He was al¬ 
so at the head of the group that won the special prize for the 
best exhibit of stock bred in Southern California, also of those that won the 
special prize, a fine buggy robe, for the best exhibit of hares bred in Los Angeles. 
Taken altogether, Cherub was the phenomenal prize-winner of the exposition. 

CROWN PRINCE is a full brother to Cherub, but three months younger. He 
shows a style superior, if anything, to his famous brother. He has length, 
symmetry of bone, and fineness of head all nearer perfection, if possible, than 
the same qualities in Cherub. He carries the richest of golden tan, although 
not yet through his moult, to an extent that entitles him, all other qualities 
considered, to a score of 95 points. 

ROYAL RED.—Sired by Rochdale, dam, Sunset Belle, she by Lord Banbury 
out of Pauline Hall, both imported. The name of this buck describes him He 
is simply red where he does not show ticking, and ticking he has in abundance. 
In his baby form, less than five months, he weighs six and a half pounds, a 
weight which warrants the prediction that he will weigh nine or more at 
maturity. He comes fully up to the standard in shape. In the body sec¬ 
tions no cut can be given him for proportions. He has a.grand head, abundance 
of ear lacing, and good length of ear, adding a desirable finish to his other ex¬ 
cellent qualities. 

Having thus mentioned some of the principal bucks of our herd which we have 
reserved for breeding purposes, we shall now describe a few of the does, which 
are fully equal to the bucks, and together with them, make up the finest herd 
of breeding animals of which we have any knowledge. The first of these to be 
named is our imported doe FAIRY QUEEN. She was selected for us by the 


3i 



LADY GOLDEN. 

At 5 months. Weight 8 lbs. Score 94K- Sire, Golden Boy,-imported; dam Lady Primrose. 
One of three sisters reserved as breeders 




32 


best judge of Belgians in England expressly to mate with Fashoda and Bloom¬ 
ing Heather. This magnificent creature has sufficient nerve and buoyancy to 
stand upon her front toe nails, supporting the weight of her body. All the 
snap and “go” of a Kentucky thoroughbred are shown in the body action of 

this doe. This is well illustrated in our picture of her. Fairy Queen has tick¬ 

ing in superabundance and yet the lightest of blue next to the skin. Between 
the points of the hair where the ticking appears and that portion next to the 
skin—the middle length of the fur—she has the lightest of rufus red or a 

rose-gold tint. On those portions of the neck and back where ticking is lack¬ 

ing, the color is a fire-red, something that we have never seen elsewhere in 
such a marvelous shade. She has the same color on her hind feet, not a white 
hair and no smudge. Her ear lacing is nearly perfect. 

The COUNTESS OF WARWICK is the name of the most beautiful woman 
in England and also of one of our imported does. To say that this doe is beau¬ 
tiful is leaving off the emphasis to which she is entitled. She has absolutely 
perfect front feet, quality of leg, size, shape and color. Her hind legs are equal 
in every respect and superior to those of any other doe we have ever seen from 
across the water. Her ears are perfect in color, although a trifle deficient in lac¬ 
ing. Over her whole body she has color to spare. 

PRIMROSE AND SWEETNESS are two does that we have photographed to¬ 
gether. These are the progeny of Lord Britain and Bonanza Beauty. They 
are sisters but from an older litter than Beauty’s Noble. This is the finest 
pair of does ever bred in America. In fact, we challenge the world to produce 
their equal. There were seven does in the litter from which these two 
came and four in the next litter by the same parents. The only appreciable 
difference in all of these animals was that of weight. When posed as seen in 
the picture given we see perfect front feet, in color, shape and size. Their 
hind feet are just as good. These does weigh ten pounds each and there were 
three in the litter that exceeded eleven pounds each. Their heads cannot be 
beaten. These does’ scores are 94%, 94% and all the litter scored at from 94^ to 
94%. One of this lot carried off the American championship at the recent 
exposition in Los Angeles for the best American-bred doe. Bred at the Bo¬ 
nanza Rabbitry. The temptations in clean gold to part with these does have 
been more numerous and greater because of the prices offered than any others 
we have ever known or heard of. In these we have the highest effect in color 
and ticking it has ever been our pleasure to see in any animals, not except¬ 
ing the best imported specimens. Note the fact that in these does we have high¬ 
est quality combined with weight, two pounds over standard requirements. 

PEACH BLOSSOM is a doe bred from Lord Cayenne and Lady May. In 
her five-months’-old form she has wonderful style, quality and size. As re¬ 
gards color and form of her feet and legs, she is practically perfect, yet has 
four months’ time for improvement before she would ordinarily be at her best. 
There are four sisters in this litter and when you have seen one you have 
seen them all. 


33 



CROWN PRINCE, at 7 months of age. 

Weight 8 % lbs., score 95. Full brother to Cherub but from a later litter. Bred at Bonanza Rabbitrj-and re¬ 
served for our stud. 







34 


LADY GOLDEN.—Sired by Golden Boy, dam Lady Primrose. She 
has two sister that are all as rich as gold is. That is the most exact state¬ 
ment we can make. They are all phenomenally rich in lacing, ticking, size, 
and beautiful, symmetrical form. Goldie’s Flossie has a finish rarely seen at 
four months of age. She has arrived at an early maturity, a fact which we be¬ 
lieve to be attributable to our methods of management, plenty of space for ex¬ 
ercise, abundance of air and sunlight and other chances for development. 

SWEET MARIE is by Lord Cayenne out of Lady Rochdale. We could expend 
a half page of description upon her but will content ourselves with saying 
that she is one of the flowers of the Bonanza Rabbitry. We have three of this 
litter bred to Fashoda. 

MISS AMBROSE—By Ambrose, imported. Her dam is one of the old and tried 
breeders of the Bonanza Rabbitry. She is actually burdened with color and has 
a rarely rich abundance of ear lacing, grand feet and legs. Her progeny are su¬ 
perior to herself and, on this account, she is one of the animals that are simply 
invaluable in a herd. 

LITTLE NELL—By Rochdale, out of Gold Bug’s Gem. Might properly be 
characterized as a gem. She has the ideal head and foot coupled with extreme 
length of body, beautiful and symmetrical. This fine doe is bred to Blooming 
Heather. Her sister and counterpart is bred to Beauty’s Noble. 

Here we shall end our description of our breeding animals. We might carry 
this catalogue out to cover a dozen or more pages describing others 
among our more than eighty breeding animals, similar in quality to those already 
mentioned, and each scoring close to 95 points. These scores are not, in any 
sense, fictitious, but are open to comparison with the opinions of the most ex¬ 
pert and critical judge to be found. If these hares were put into prime condi¬ 
tion for exhibition, by grooming, care in feeding and training, a gain might be 
made in each of from one-half to three-fourths of a point, perhaps of a whole 
point, and this could be done in a period of from fifteen to thirty days. In the 
above descriptions we have named the grandest bucks in existence today and 
as many does of equal merit. Although it may be repetition we wish to say 
again that all of these does except three were bred at our own rabbitry and that 
our two imported does were the best that money could buy after an exhaustive 
search of thirteen months. 

All of the cuts shown in this booklet are from photographs taken from life. 
In Fashoda's picture especially note the vigor and vitality shown by his beauti¬ 
fully clear and prominent eye. 

A COMPARISON OF SCORE CARDS. 

As a measure of determining the value of hares, the high ratings claimed by 
some owners are often misleading to the public, and even the score card, al¬ 
though the best means that we have at our command, is 
not always clear to the amateur as indicating a choice be- 



YOUNG FASHODA at 4 months of age. 

Too young yet to score. Sire, Champion Fashoda; dam Bonanza Queen II. The peer of his 
illustrious sire. Reserved for our stud. 

.f *; 













36 


tween two specimens both scoring high. It is evidence that the one 
hare might excel in qualities easily obtained and possessed in common with 
hundreds of others. The other might excel in qualities most difficult to obtain 
and rarely found anywhere. Obviously the latter would be the more valuable, 
from any and every point of view, because it would be vastly more difficult 
to duplicate him and also because he would transmit to his offspring the very 
desirable qualities most difficult to obtain. Still, through lack of care in fit¬ 
ting, and through differences in age and management, especially with bucks 
and does of a breeding age, the hare of the greater intrinsic value might fall a 
trifle short in the footings as compared with a less valuable animal. 

As an illustration of these facts, we present herewith a comparison of the 
score cards of Lord Nason and Champion Fashoda. Judge P. E. Crabtree of 
Denver, was the scorer and judge of both of these hares. Lord Nason’s score 
card is printed in Judge Crabtree’s paper, “The Agricultural and Live Stock 
Herald,” issue of April 20, 1900. The rating given to Fashoda was that by 
which he took the International Championship at the Los Angeles Exposition, 
February, igoo. Lord Nason is scored at 96, Fashoda at 95%. Yet we con¬ 
tend, most emphatically, that Fashoda is by far the better animal, and we pro¬ 
pose to illustrate our position by a full analysis of the score cards of both. 
In order to make the illustration as clear as possible, we present both cards 
in full herewith. They are as follows: 



LORD NASON. 

FASHODA. 

Stray hairs .. 


14 

Color of body . 


perfect. 

Color of sides . 

. 14 

14 

Color of hindquarters . 

.% 

14 

Color of jaws . 


14 

Ticking . 

.1% 

% 

Shape of body .. 


perfect. 

Shape of flank and rib . 


y 4 

Shape of back . 


perfect. 

Shape of loins . 


perfect. 

Shape of head .. 

.% 

% 

Lacing of ears . 

.% 

% 

Size of ears .. 


perfect. 

Shape of ears.. 


perfect. 

Color of ears .. 

. y 2 

14 

Quality of ears .. 

Eyes perfect in both specimens. 


14 

Length of front legs .. 


perfect. 

Shape of front feet and legs .... 

.% 

y 4 

Color front feet and legs . 

.perfect. 

perfect. 

Quality of front feet and legs .. 

.perfect. 

perfect. 

Color of hind feet . 


perfect. 

Both specimens perfect in size, 

conditi an of flesh and 

condition of fur. 


Shape of neck, a cut of 14 in each. 
























MYRTLE, MAYFLOWER, MARIPOSA LILY AND MARIGOLD. 

Litter sisters at 7 months of a£e. Sire, imported Lord Britain; dam, Bonanza Beauty. Scores 94J4, 94J6, 94J£ and 95. Weight 9, 9B, 9 1 / and 
9;+ lbs. Bred at Bonanza Rabbitry and reserved as breeders. ' e 




38 

For those who may not be familiar with the score card, we may say that ioo 
represents perfection in every detail. The above fractions are the deductions 
to be made from ioo for deficiencies in the specimen. The card contains 29 
sections and each specimen is estimated in each of these sections. Adding 
Lord Nason’s deficiencies, we find that they amount to a total of four points, 
which, deducted from 100, leaves a score of 96. Adding Fashoda’s deficiencies 
we find that they aggregate 4V2, which, also deducted from 100, leaves a score 
of 95V2, or V2 point less than the score of Lord Nason by the same judge. 

But when we come to look at the reasons for these deductions, 
or “punishments,” as they are called in the technical language of 
the scorer, we shall find all these reasons in favor of Fashoda. 
We shall make no comment on those points wherein both animals score alike, 
but shall discuss only the points of difference. The point of “stray hairs” is 
the very first of these. Here we find that Fashoda was cut 14 of a point for 
half a dozen or more stray white hairs scattered over his body. We ought to 
have gone over him before the exhibition and picked these out, but we were 
very busy at the time and did not find an opportunity. The next point of 
difference is the color of the hindquarters. Here Lord Nason loses V2 and 
Fashoda %. Perfection in color of the hindquarters is a point most difficult of 
attainment. In color of jaws, Lord Nason is perfect and Fashoda stands a 
punishment of 14 . As regards ticking, waviness included, Lord Nason is cut 
iVi, Fashoda, %. In shape of flank and rib, Lord Nason has an advantage of 

14 of a point. In shape of head he gains V2, in lacing of ears, 14 . In color of 

ears, Lord Nason loses 14 , and Fashoda loses 14 in quality. They are alike in 

other points until we come to the color of the hind feet, where Fashoda has an 

advantage to the extent of 14 of a point. Each has a cut of 14 in the shape 
of the neck. 

Now, in analyzing these scores from the fancier’s standpoint, it will be con¬ 
ceded that the most difficult element to procure in an animal ap¬ 
proaching the ideal, is color, all the way through. This applies 
equally to color of body, sides, hindquarters, jaws, ticking, lacing, 
color of ears, and of both front and hind feet. The most difficult of all and 
the point for which fanciers struggle hardest and longest, is to procure hind 
feet perfect in color. Next is the color of the hindquarters. Probably equal 
difficulty has been experienced in establishing the ideal quantity and propor¬ 
tion of ear lacing, together with the ideal color of the ear. Now in these 
points, we find Fashoda has the advantage over Lord Nason of % of a point 
in the color of his feet. In other words, he is absolutely perfect in this respect, 
while Lord Nason is lacking. In the proportion of color in the hindquarters, 
Fashoda is again ahead %. Another and very important section of the score 
card is ticking. Fashoda is ahead here V2 of a point. In color of ear, Fa¬ 
shoda leads M of a point. In shape of flank and rib he loses * 4 , but this is a 
point wherein perfection can be attained by any high-class hare simply by 
feeding and handling. Fashoda stood a punishment in this respect because 
we were overpressed with work before the exposition and had no time to de- 


39 



DR. B. C. PLATT. 






40 


vote to fitting him. He went upon the exhibition table absolutely without 
special preparation, and directly from the stud. He lost % of a point here 
which might easily have been saved. 

In shape of head Fashoda loses % of a point. This is entirely owing to a 
difference of some six or seven months in age, as the thickening of the head 
and jaws increases rapidly in bucks after they begin to be used in the stud. 
Consequently there should be no comparison between a buck that has entered 
the stud and one that has not, and, moreover, has been fitted to the highest 
degree by care and manipulation. The color of the feet, on the contrary, is 
something that cannot be put upon a hare by feeding or manipulation. Nature 
alone can do this. It is a product of skillful mating continued for generations. 
When the young buck has reached the age of fourteen or fifteen months, say five 
months in the stud, and has taken on coarseness in head, flank and rib, yet is 
still lacking in the color of his feet, and also is lacking in ticking as to 
take a punishment of i% in that important particular, he comes down the scale 
very rapidly, and is fortunate if he gets out with a score of two points or 
two and a half points under that made in tie prime tf his life and cond'tion, befo e 
entering the stud. This has been the experience of every buck that has come 
before the public except Fashoda. 

Many expected that he, too, would come down in the scale and would not 
be, after entering the stud, anywhere near where he was before. But he still 
has the richness of ticking, which, together with his perfect coloring, produces 
the most beautiful effect ever seen upon a buck at any age, and is absolutely 
perfect in coloring of all four feet. 

The punishment of % of a point which Fashoda received in shape of neck 
was a result of lancing for a boil on his under jaw four or five days before 
the exhibition. This was a mere incident not affecting his value or condition 
after his recovery from the boil, an illness undoubtedly due to changes in life 
following importation, change in climate and kinds of food. 

Last but not least, Fashoda has the advantage of every imported buck in this 
country, in weight. He exceeds the required eight pounds by one pound and 
this gives him over sixteen per cent, gain over Lord Nason and over twentv 
per cent, advantage over the next best imported buck in America. A fine tiny 
hare is nice to have, but a magnificent, large specimen is by far preferable. 

The claims made by certain parties of having secured an international cham¬ 
pionship are also misleading. There has been but one international competi¬ 
tion thus far, that at the Los Angeles show, in February, igoo. We secured 
the championship prize, $100 in gold. It was paid to us and we have the of¬ 
ficial certificate to the fact. The score card of Fashoda given herewith is an 
exact copy of the card furnished us in this contest, in open competition among 
iioo head. This analysis, with some changes, applies to Ajax, as well as 
to Lord Nason. His score card entitles him to a punishment of V* on color of 
feet, and he makes up for the deficiency, and the difference between gs 1 /^ 
and g6, by the grooming and starving process employed in fitting him for ex- 


41 



ELMER L. PLATT. 



42 


hibition, whereby his flanks and ribs were drawn in and made more symetrical. 
This is not a natural shape of the hare and will never be carried by any buck 
in the stud or when eating freely and naturally. In fact, in justice to all 

parties, the classification and grading of animals in all comparisons should be 
made upon some basis that will place the bucks exhibited upon an equality. 
This cannot be done when one animal has been in stud and the other not, or 
when there is a marked difference in age. These are points which the public 
should consider carefully, especially those fanciers who are aiming to build up 
a name and a herd of choice exhibition specimens, and to prepare themselves 
to breed exhibition stock. Fashoda in his prime, say in his ninth-month form, 
would undoubtedly have saved of a point on flank and rib, M of a point on 
shape of front feet, and V* of a point on shape of neck, 

and at least Vz point on shape of head. This saving would 
have entitled him to a score of 96%. Fashoda has now been six months in the 
stud. Ajax was never in the stud. Lord Nason had done but little if any¬ 
thing in the stud. He was not in the competition although he was in Los 

Angeles at the time. Fashoda is the only buck ever scored perfect in hind feet. 
In a word, we again challenge the world to produce Fashoda's equal under equal 
conditions of comparison. 


SHIPPING TO DISTANT POINTS. 




We have young from most of the above described bucks and does and from 
others of our herd of breeders constantly on hand and for sale. They represent 
a great variety of matings and we are constantly striving to keep ourselves in 
position to fill any reasonable selection. We ship hares at two months of age 
and over to comparatively near-by points and at three months and over to any 
point- in the United States or to points abroad. We send all hares in a light 
crate of our own devising, plentifully supplied with food and with every possible 
care on our part that they may arrive in first-class condition. 

The express companies will now insure the safe arrival of hares for a premium 
of ten per cent, extra charge upon the total valuation above five dollars. 

Our terms are cash with order. We do not ship hares C. 0 . D. as this is an 
impracticable method with live-stock and not customary. Shipping live-stock is 
a different proposition from sending off sewing machines, bicycles or similar 
merchandise which may properly be shipped subject to inspection and trial. We 
guarantee everything sold to be precisely as represented in this publication or in 
our correspondence, and consider our reputation as breeders and dealers of too 
great importance to us, from a financial standpoint, to be endangered by any 


43 


lack of care on our part. Up to the present time we have had no controversy 
with any patron and have yet to learn of any dissatisfaction with our methods 
or with the hares that we have sold. We have many customers who have re¬ 
peated their orders, some of them as many as eight times. 

The following examples will serve to give an idea of a practical way in which 
to start small herds: 

First: For a small outlay of money a pair about three months of age, buck and 
doe, may be had, and when five months, old, mated. 

Second: We may select a doe bred and, when ready to breed again, have 
her bred to some other good buck, either in your own town or by shipping her to 
some reputable breeder possessing a fine stud buck. In this way, you need have 
only one doe to start with and still increase your herd by young litters and 
new blood, choosing a buck of a different strain of blood from the young litter that 
the doe first brought you. 

Third: For this start we will select a doe, five months of age, bred to a good 
buck, not akin to her. With the bred doe we will take a young buck, three 
and one-half months of age and then he will be ready to serve the doe when 
her first litter is four to six weeks old. 

Fourth: For this we will select two does and two bucks, not akin to each 
other in any way you may place them, and about three months of age. This 
arrangement allows of independent breeding in this herd for a period of from 
one and one-half to two years, without inbreeding or going outside the herd for 
new blood. If the does of this lot are selected at five months of age, and the 
bucks at three and one-half months, and the does bred at date of purchase to 
bucks not akin to them or to the young bucks that are brought with them, then 
one can breed on for three years or more without inbreeding or going outside one’s 
own herd. 

To establish a large herd as many as twenty-five does may be allowed to one 
buck, but to be able to make up pairs and trios for sale, and not akin, at least 
three bucks should be kept in the herd and as many as three separate and dis¬ 
tinct strains of blood. If you wish to make up a herd of four, six or eight does 
and send them out with bucks not akin to them, you will see the necessity of 
having as many as eight, ten or twelve strains of blood in the herd. 

We desire to start every beginner right in this business. For this reason we 
have only high-class stock for sale. We have none of the old-fashioned type now 
practically worthless and do not cater to the patronage of the huckster and spec¬ 
ulator. We do not furnish score cards with inferior stock rating it at five times 
its value, for we have no inferior stock to sell. It has come to our notice that 
frauds are being practiced upon unsuspecting buyers and that worthless, cheap 
stock is being doctored up with paint and hair-dye to conceal disqualifying 
marks, and that this class of stock is being palmed off on a pretense that it is 
the best. 

We warn purchasers against frauds of this kind. This is only one of the 
numerous methods of misrepresentation employed. Others are the forging of the 


44 


names of well-known judges to score cards, manufacturing pedigrees and imitat¬ 
ing blanks and forms employed by reputable and responsible breeders. 

We furnish an authentic and reliable score card, bearing a 
gold seal of the National Association of Belgian Hare Judges made out in 
ink and signed with the full name of our manager, in ink, with each hare pur¬ 
chased from us. We also furnish certificate of sale and pedigree and certificate 
of breeding in cases where the does are bred to any of our bucks and cer¬ 
tificates of registration in the National herd books. We guarantee the genu¬ 
ineness of these over our own signature and are financially responsible for all 
our guarantees. These forms are all of our own designs and are the most com¬ 
plete and beautifully prepared ever invented. They measure nine by twelve 
inches and are works of art. 

We take pride in all the details of our business and believe that a thoroughly 
satisfied customer is the best advertisement possible. The form of score card 
which we employ is the official form of the National Association of Belgian 
Hare Judges. When we ship does bred we furnish, in addition to the certifi¬ 
cate of breeding, an affidavit taken before a notary public. 

We employ all of our large experience and our skill in the mating of animals 
purchased from us, when requested by patrons, for making up a foundation 
herd, large or small, with a view to producing an improvement upon the orig¬ 
inal stock in the offspring. Our selection is further aided by the large number of 
strains, sixteen families, which we have at our command. Our success in this 
direction is amply demonstrated by our record at the late exposition. This was 
not secured by a hit or miss process of mating and breeding but by studying and 
applying scientific principles, long understood and thoroughly tested in large 
herds of larger live-stock for a period of nearly thirty years. 

With the organization of hundreds of Belgian hare clubs and other similar 
organizations throughout the country for the purpose of developing the Belgian 
hare industry there will be given many Belgian hare expositions for years to 
come. Parties who take time by the forelock and prepare themselves to com¬ 
pete successfully for the prizes in these shows will do well to keep their eyes 
upon the Bonanza Rabbitry as the source of supply for prize-winners. We are 
making a specialty, of making matings for the express purpose of producing cer¬ 
tain types to meet the requirements of breeders and to supply deficiencies in 
herds. When we contract to furnish a specimen of a certain quality, for in¬ 
stance one that will score, say 91 to 92 points or 94 

to 95 points, at six or seven months of age, we will 

certainly fill the bill or the contract may be canceled without cost to 

the party ordering. In this, as in every other feature of this industry we have 

led and still lead. Others follow. We originate; others imitate; we invent; 
others pattern. A word to the wise is sufficient. 


I rfC. 





THE HOME OF DR. B. C. PLATT. 


















46 

TESTIMONIALS ABOUT THE “BONANZA RABBITRY” MANUAL. 




DENVER, Colo., Dec. ioth, 1898. 

Dr. B. C Platt. Los Angeles. Cal., 

Dear Sir: 

I hereby acknowledge receipt of your book, “The Bonanza Rabbitry,” for which 
please accept thanks. After looking it over carefully I find it the best of many 
that have come to my desk. Its particular information, together with the illus¬ 
trations, especially the view of the house and runs where you keep your rabbits, 
make it a book that every fancier should have, certainly every beginner. A care¬ 
ful study of it would easily save the price of the book, as one gets the benefit 
of the experience of one who has carefully studied the question from all sides. 
Believing, as I do, in the value of the book, I shall take pleasure in recommend¬ 
ing it to the breeders when opportunity offers. Wishing you the success you de¬ 
serve, I remain, yours very truly, 

J. L. DEVALON, 

Secretary of the National Belgian Hare Club of America. 


“The Agricultural and Live Stock Herald” of Denver, Colorado, says that the 
best work on Belgian Hares ever yet issued is “The Bonanza Rabbitry,” by Dr. B. 
C. Platt, of Los Angeles, California, and that it is a very complete and valuable 
book. The editor of this paper is an expert breeder of Belgian hares and the 
best judge in this country. 


AVALON, Cal., July 14th, 1899. 


Dr. B. C. Platt, Los Angeles, Cal.: 

Dear Sir: I have read carefully your book on the Belgian hare for pleasure 
and for profit, and am fully convinced, from my experience in following the di¬ 
rections so carefully laid down therein that any person of intelligence, by the 
use of common sense, has at hand, from that book, all the information necessary 
to successfully breed hares of a high type. I am also convinced that a departure 
from those rules, and the use of the box hatch, has caused many failures to pro¬ 
duce satisfactory results. Very truly yours, 


A. W. JONES, 


47 


The following is quoted from “The Boyle Heights Press,” Los Angeles, Cal., 
and refers to “The Bonanza Rabbitry:” “This is a most excellent little work, and 
is exactly what beginners require and they should have it before they begin. 
It will save them many times its cost in helping them to avoid mistakes. This 
manual is the most complete and comprehensive work of its kind ever issued, 
and, by following the directions therein contained, every fancier and every rab¬ 
bit farmer may secure success and profit. It is the result of extensive experience 
and many original experiments.” 

“Perhaps the pioneer in the real awakening of the hare industry is Dr. B. C. 
Platt, author and publisher of ‘The Bonanza Rabbitry.’ He is also an active 
breeder of very choice animals and an able writer on the subject.”—(Agricultural 
and Live Stock Herald, Denver, Colorado.) 

We cannot quote prices on hares in this booklet, for we have too many differ¬ 
ent values. But we invite correspondence upon this point. Write us fully, stat¬ 
ing your wants in detail, and we will answer promptly and tell you what we 
can do for you. 


Address all communications to 

DR. B. C. PLATT, 


DR. B. C. PLATT AND SON, ELMER. Business Manager Bonanza Rabbitry. 

930 Grand View Avenue, Los Angeles, Cal. 

Send to Crabtree & Devalon, 1448 Curtis St., Denver, Colorado, for sample 
copies of the Agricultural and Live Stock Herald, an eight-page weekly, printed 
on good half-tone pdper, and beautifully illustrated. 

This is the best authority on the Belgian hare industry in this country. It 
is also a first-class poultry and live stock authority with much other valuable 
and interesting reading. The editors of this paper are really the fathers of 
the Belgian hare industry in this country. 



48 



THE BONANZA RABBITRY OF TO-DAY. 
Illustrating the open air, ground floor system of management. 

















49 

VALUABLE SPECIALTIES EOR BABBITRIES. 

We are inventors and manufa:turers of a number of specialties indispensable 
in every well-appointed rabbitry. They include everything that the breeder 
needs for his own convenience and for the comfort and health of his pets. We 
sell all these supplies in quantities to suit, wholesale or retail. We quote 
herein retail prices. Prices on larger quantities given on application. These 
articles are protected by letters patent. 

OUR HAY RACK. 

Is the neatest and most convenient known for feeding 
hay. It is constructed of strong wire and is very durable. Can be ad¬ 
justed to any pen in a moment. With this rack it is impossible for hares to 
catch their ears to or do themselves any injury. Price, $2.50 per dozen. 

THE BONANZA SELF-REGULATING FEED BOX. 

These boxes prevent the waste of food and keep it always, clean. They are 
made of galvanized-iron, are neat and ornamental, can be regulated so that the 
supply of feed may be greater or less in accordance with the number and age 
of the hares in a pen. Will save their cost in feed within a few weeks. 
They are 5 by 10 inches at the base, and 8 inches high. The self-regulat¬ 
ing device is an adjustable slanting slide. Price, each, 75 cents. Per dozen, 
$7.00. 

SELF-REGULATING WATER-FOUNTAINS. 

Made of galvanized iron; cylindrical in shape, with a circular base. By an 
application of a simple law of mechanics the two quarts of water contained 
in one of these fountains is suspended in the circular chamber and trikles 
out into the basin at the base as taken away by the hares. Water is kept 
fresh, clean and pure. Price, each, 50 cents. By the dozen, $5.00. 

The above three devices are economical of time and labor as they do not 
require frequent refilling. 

BRACKETS FOR SUSPENDING WATER FOUNTAINS. 

These brackets retain the water- fountains at any desired height above the 
ground. Made of strong wire, readily adjusted, keep the young hares from get¬ 
ting into the water, defiling it and injuring themselves. Price, $1.00 per 
dozen. 

SHIPPING CRATES. 

Made in sections suited to shipping a single hare or half a dozen young 
ones that have been reared together and will dwell in harmony. As many 
sections up to six as are desired may be added. These are one foot in height 
and two feet and a half in diameter. They are circular in form. They will 
last a life time. Hares shipped in these crates take long journeys and arrive 
in the pink of condition. Express companies endorse this crate and return it 
free. Price, single section, $10.00. 



50 

CERTIFICATES OF SALE AND PEDIGREE BLANKS. 

For sale in books of one or two hundred, bound. These are ornamental and 
complete. Neatest of anything yet devised. Certificate nine by twelve inches, 
artistic in design, beautifully printed on a fine quality of paper. Contains 
full history of animal sold, extended in tabulated form. Stub serves as a rec¬ 
ord of the transaction and a private herd register. Price, book of ioo, $2.75; 
book of 200, $4.00. We print in title of rabbitry and name and address of 
proprietor. Will employ a cut of any animall that may be desired. Cuts must 
be two inches by four and a quarter inches, half-tones. When we furnish 
half-tones from photographs furnished us, the cost is $2.25 additional. 

CERTIFICATES OF BREEDING. 

Prepared on precisely the same plan as the above. Give full pedigrees of the 
bucks which they represent. From ph otograph of the buck desired to be 
illustrated on pedigree we will furnish half-tone and printed pedigree in ex¬ 
tended tablated form. Where cut is furnished we will furish book of 100 
blanks for $3.25. When we furnish half-tone from photographs furnished us 
there is an additional cost of $2.25. 

ALUMINUM EAR-TAGS. 

Light, substantially made, of the best grade of this material, accompanied 
by a suitable size and quality of annealed aluminum wire, keeps the tags 
secure. Numbered consecutively in a series of from one to one thousand. Price 
$1 per hundred. Punch suitable for setting, special make, 75 cents. 

A SUPERIOR FORM OF PEN CARD. 

These when filled, serve as a private herd register. We print with title of 
rabbitry, or name of owner, without extra charge. Price $1.00 per one hun¬ 
dred. 

Register your hares with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BELGIAN 
HARE JUDGES. We have the BEST SYSTEM ever devised. 

OUR PLAN. 

We propose to divide all hares sent to us for registration into three classes. 
The first will include record-makers, and will be called the record class. This 
will include hares that have won prizes in open contests in public exhibitions. 
The second may be termed the general class. Into this will be admitted 
all hares that have reached the age of six months. The third class will in¬ 
clude hares under six months that have descended from prize-winning, regis¬ 
tered stock, either sire or dam. It will be called the junior class.. 

We shall have an additional book in which names selected for hares will 
be recorded. No other animals will be recorded under the same name. This 
insures protection to a breeder in theuse of a name even before the animal 
to which the name shall apply has been selected. This may be called ad¬ 
vanced registration. 

The uniform fee for registration in either class will be one dollar. In cases 
when a name is registered the hare to which that name shall apply will, when 
selected be assigned a number and a certificate of registration without 
additional charge. Transferring from class No. 3 to the record class, when- 


5i 


ever a specimen becomes eligible, will be made for a fee of fifty cents and 
a certificate of registration, giving record of winnings, will be furnished. 

Certificates of transfer from the original owner registering to a buyer will 
be made for a fee of twenty-five cents. 

Rules governing, instructions in general, together with blank forms of appli¬ 
cations for registration, and forms of certificates for transfer, sample of certifi¬ 
cate of registration, also an essay on the advantages of registration and of scor¬ 
ing hares, will be sent upon receipt of ten cents in stamps or coin. 

The certificate of registration is the most carefully prepared, beautifully 
designed and artistically illustrated piece of work ever put forth by the pro¬ 
moters of any live-stock industry in America or elsewhere. It needs only 
to be seen to be thoroughly appreciated. 

Address Dr. B. C. PLATT, President of the National Association of Belgian 
Hare Judges, 930 Grand View Ave., LosAngeles, Cal. 



BRILLIANTINE 

At S months. Weight 7 pounds. Sired by Im¬ 
ported Brilliant, dam Cora, a youngster of rare 
individual excellence. Not for sale. 


HEATHER BELL 

At 6 months. Weight 8 pounds. Score 94Jt>. 
Sired by Blooming Heather, dam Bonanza 
Maid. A buck of grand size, extremely rich in 
color and beautifully shaped. Not for sale. 







New edition of our well-known work on the Belgian Hare, entitled: 



In this edition, this Manual, already the most complete and satisfactory 
book on the subject, has been completely rewritten and revised. It now contains 
four or five times the original quantity of reading matter. Chapters have been adled 
on every phase of the industry, both those that appeal to the practical busin.ss 
man, who regards the Belgian Hare purely as an article of commerce, and those 
that interest the wide-awake, progressive, up-to-date fancier. We believe that 
every possible feature of this extensive subject has been carefully considered. 
The book has been enriched by the finest half-tones of Belgian hares that 
have ever been produced. We have spared no pains or expense to secure these, 
and have employed the most competent artists available in this line. It is 
very handsomely printed on heavy, coated book paper. As an illustration of 
the art of printer and engraver, it is a beautiful book, well worth presenting fcr 
this cause alone. 

This book gives minute directions on breeding, care, feeding, management, mar¬ 
keting, including plans, directions and cost; tables for constructing large and 
small rabbitries. Its chapter on cooking, and lists of receipts, is very com¬ 
plete. It discusses all the more common diseases of the hare with much prac¬ 
tical and expert advice, based upon large experience and exhaustive investiga¬ 
tions. Its chapter in mating, breeding prize-winners, and preparing spec - 
mens for exhibition, and training for perfection in reaching the standard of the 
ideal, will open new and unexplored fields to the fancier. Such subjects as 
the score card, the system of judging, the true spirit of the fancier, registra¬ 
tion, breeder’s association, and the like, are discussed in a fair, manly and con¬ 
servative spirit. 

Written by Dr. Dr. B. C. Platt, President of the National Association of Belgian 
Hare Judges, and undoubtedly the leading authority upon this subject. This 
book will become the standard work upon this subject, for the use of the ama¬ 
teur, the fancier, and the professional judge of Belgian Hares. Price of this man¬ 
ual, $1.00; postage paid. 








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